Heaven Is For Real!

I went to Barnes and Noble on Saturday with Buddy and Quinn. While I was looking for a couple of books to get Quinn for Easter, I noticed a book on the shelf called Heaven is For Real. I have read other books about people who say they had been to Heaven and came back, as a result of a car accident, coma, etc. This one struck me as different because the person who went to Heaven was an almost 4-year old boy.  Being the mother of a boy practically the same age, it definitely caught my eye. I had to have this book.

I started reading it in the afternoon, and read off and on the rest of the day, finishing the book about 9pm. I could not put this book down. Without giving too much away, the main plot of the book is that a young boy gets super sick from undiagnosed appendicitis and has to have an operation. During his operation he goes to Heaven. A few months later, in conversations with his parents (his father is a pastor) he begins to reveal things about Heaven, Jesus, and God that no child would have learned in a Sunday School Class. At first his parents aren't sure what to think, until he begins to reveal things about his family that happened years before he was born. He describes family members they way they looked in their younger days.

The part of the book that hit home the most for me was when Colton (the little boy) tells his parents he has two sisters. They say, "No, son, you only have one." And he tells them, "But what about the baby that died in Mommy's tummy? I met her in Heaven." You see, his mother had lost a baby before Colton was born, and he met his sister! His mother had miscarried at 2 months, and didn't even know if the baby was a boy or a girl. This was the part that made me cry, because I instantly thought of my own little Heaven baby.  I may not know what he or she would have looked like here on earth, but that baby will know who I am!

I've always wondered what Heaven will be like. What will we wear? Who all will I see there? I mean, I know certain family members and friends who have accepted Christ as their Saviour, but who will I see that I didn't know was a Christian. Will there be animals there? What will Jesus and God look like? What will it be like to have understanding about things that we don't understand here on Earth? 

This book was an incredible read and has definitely given me another reason to look forward to Heaven!  I highly recommend this book. If you believe that Heaven will be your home, it will increase your excitement!

If I could save time in a bottle.....

That song was popular back in 1976....the same year my parents got married! Momma always said she wanted to have this song sung at their wedding but for some reason she didn't.

I had the best parents a girl could ever have! It was always just the three of us and I never doubted for a minute how much my parents loved me and how much they loved each other. I am so thankful to have had Christian parents. They made sure I was in church, and that influence on me was just one of the many reasons I accepted Christ at such an early age. They were always supportive of anything I wanted to do, including when Buddy and I had to move away shortly after we got married. I have enjoyed seeing them become grandparents to Quinn.

HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!!

This picture is from March 2008, but was the only one recent one I have of them together....

Sharing Songs for Easter....part four

Another song I love to hear, no matter when I hear it is "Arise my Love" by NewSong.  The
first time I heard this song was when the interpretive movement team at my church performed to this song. They would dress like mimes (without the white faces)...all black with white gloves. They "acted" out the song while using sign language. The youth pastor dressed in all white with white gloves and was the part of God in the song. I can't describe this and do it justice, but anytime I hear this song, I can see the performance in my head.

"Arise My Love" by NewSong
Not a word was heard at the tomb that day.
Just shuffling of soldiers feet as they guarded the grave.
One day, two days, three days had past.
Could it be that Jesus breathed His last?


Could it be that His Father had forsaken him?
Turned his back on his son despising our sin.
All hell seemed to whisper 'Just forget Him, He's dead.'
Then the Father looked down to his son and he said..


Arise, My love. Arise, My love.
The grave no longer has a hold on you
No more death's sting; No more suffering


Arise...Arise...my love.


The Earth trembled and the tomb began to shake,
and like lightening from Heaven the stone was rolled away.
And as dead man the guards they all stood there in fright
As the power of love displayed its might


Then suddenly a melody filled the air
Riding wings of wind, it was everywhere
The words all creation had been longing to hear
The sweet sound of victory, so loud and clear.


Arise, my love. Arise, my love.
The grave no longer has a hold on you.
No more death's sting no more suffering
Arise...arise....


Sin, where are your shackles?
Death, where is your sting?
Hell; has been defeated.
The grave could not hold the king!!


Arise, My love. Arise, My love.
The grave no longer has a hold on you
No more death's sting; No more suffering
Arise....Arise....Arise

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again!" Luke 24: 5b-7

Sharing Songs for Easter...part three

I didn't get a chance to post my song for Friday, so I'm going to do that now.

I mentioned before how much I like the group Casting Crowns. Well, on that CD I bought, there was another song that I thought was fitting for the Easter season. This song is called "Glorious Day".  It was a Glorious Day when Jesus rose from the grave, and it will be an even more Glorious Day when He returns to take us Home!

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed


Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day


One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day


One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine


Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

Sharing Songs for Easter....part two

I am a fan of the group Casting Crowns and recently bought their newest CD. Granted, this CD has been out for a while.  Track #11 is a song called Blessed Redeemer.  I did some research and discovered this song was originally written in 1920 by a lady named Avis M. Christiansen.

Blessed Redeemer
Up Calvary's mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn
Facing for sinners, death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me


"Father, forgive them," my Savior prayed
Even while His lifeblood flowed fast away
Praying for sinners while in such woe
No one but Jesus ever loved so


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Dying for me


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me


Oh, how I love Him, Savior and Friend
How can my praises ever find end?
Through years unnumbered on Heaven's shore
My songs shall praise Him forevermore


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me


Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him....

Sharing Songs for Easter.....part one

This Sunday is Easter Sunday.....Resurrection Sunday.  I am so excited to worship with my church family about the fact that Jesus conquered death when He rose from the grave.

So in the next few days to come, I plan to share some of my favorite songs that mean a lot to me, but especially at this time of year.
The song I want to share today is "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin.

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"


Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead


And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees


And rise


I will rise


There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes


Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead


And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise


I will rise


And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"


And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise


I will rise

"For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."   1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17

Step Challenge: Week Two Stats

The second week of my Step Challenge did not go as well as my first.  I'll be honest and say that a few evenings I got lazy. Partly because there were 3 out of 5 days at school I was in meetings until at least 4:30, one day until 5. By the time I picked up Quinn, got home, cooked supper and cleaned up, I was honestly ready to SIT down for a while, and the last thing I felt like doing was more steps!  Unfortunately, between that and SITTING in those meetings, I did not get as many steps. Oh well.

For those who want to help keep me accountable, here's my stats from last week.

Monday: 10,604 steps

Tuesday: 8,968 steps  (meeting until 5pm)

Wednesday: 8,193 steps  (meeting before school AND a meeting after school until 4:30)

Thursday: 9,564 steps  (parent conference after school)

Friday: 9301 steps

Saturday: 10, 464 steps  (yay for Easter Egg hunt to get my steps caught up...plus I did some Wii games!)

Sunday: 9512 steps

Weekly Total: 66, 586 steps

Divide by 2000 to get mileage : 33.29 miles

Some of you may say...why are you upset....this is more steps and more miles than last week.
Last week the challenge started on Tuesday, so I didn't have a Monday to use like I did this time.

I just hope all the other people participating are "playing fair".  Yes there is a pot of money on the line, but it's not worth cheating over.  We are adults after all.

"Try a Cake Pop....it will change your life!"

That's what I was told this past Christmas at our family's gathering when I asked what a cake pop was. My aunt had made them for a couple of years, but I had somehow missed out on this wonderful treat. I of course tried one and instantly fell in love with a cake pop!

Fast foward to last month when it seems like all of a sudden, everywhere I went people were talking about cake pop this and cake pop that. I finally asked my aunt to share with me the wonderfulness that is cake-pop-making. She sent me some pretty simple instructions that made me feel confident. She also sent me to this cake pop website which made me feel like I should be in the remedial cake pop class. I quickly closed that website, went back to my aunt's instructions, and the rest was easy-peasy! 

Here is my simple way of making cake pops. Enjoy!
(These instructions are the ones I used from my dear, sweet Aunt Louanne!)

First get a box cake mix...any flavor you want. And bake it per the instructions on the box. It doesn't have to look good because you are just going to crumble it up later.

Pour it into any size pan/pans that you have. I used my 9x13 pan, but you could use anything. Like I said, we are just going to crumble it, so it doesn't matter if you cook this in one pan or ten! 

Once you are done baking your cake, let it cool COMPLETELY! I baked my cake while Quinn was napping. I didn't do the rest of the steps until after supper.

Next you want to add 1/2 to 2/3 of a can of frosting to your cake. You would want to choose a complimentary frosting flavor. For example, I made a strawberry cake, so I chose a vanilla frosting. I wanted cream cheese, but they were out of that one. Using your hands (because a spoon just doesn't do the job) you want to mix the cake crumbles and the icing. You are about to get M E S S Y, but it's totally worth it. Mix it all up until it looks like the picture below.



Next you want to lay a strip of wax paper onto a cookie sheet. Then take the cake mixture and begin to shape it into small balls. I would say mine were about 1 inch in diameter.



 Then you want to add your sticks. I used the sucker sticks from Walmart. These are found in the same section with candy molds, wedding supplies, etc. I bought the long ones and had Buddy cut them in half for me. Next time, I will look for shorter sticks. After you put the sticks in, take the cake balls and put them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. My aunt leaves them in overnight. I did 30 minutes, but I think I should have left them longer, as some of the sticks didn't stay put.

You will also need some candy melts (also found in that same section of Walmart.)  I used the white chocolate melts, but there are a variety of colors. I have heard that using food coloring isn't the best way to change colors as the consistency messes up. Apparently you should either mix the colors of chocolate melts or by the small color melts to change the color. (I've heard those are sold at stores like AC Moore).

You need to melt this according to the package direction, but buy more than you think you will need, so when you dip the cake balls, they go completely under. Mine did not, so that's why you can see the cake showing through.

Dip your cake pops while the chocolate is completely melted and still warm. As soon as you pull them out, roll them in sprinkles, candy pieces, cookie pieces, etc. I used blue sprinkles, yellow sprinkles, and some just plain.  Also lay another strip of wax paper on your counter. Set the cake pops on this, and the chocolate coating will harden in a few minutes.

Meet the cake pops!



Things I learned during my first attempt:

1. Buy shorter sticks....or even use thick toothpicks.

2. Let them stay in the freezer longer, as some of my cake pops lost their sticks.

3. Use a deeper bowl so the cake pop is completely submerged in the chocolate.

I really enjoyed making these. It was a really easy process, although I can see things I will do differently next time.

Thank you Aunt Louanne for "changing my life"!!

Step Challenge: Week 1 Stats

My blog friend Beth suggested I post my steps on the blog for each week, so here you go.

The step challenge started on Tuesday. I had 10,515 steps.

Wednesday: 11,529 steps

Thursday: 10,624 steps

Friday: 11,087 steps

Saturday: 9,444 steps.  (You would think Saturday would have more steps than during the week, but I had a lot of laundry to catch up on, and then in the evening, we had some bad storms roll through, so there went the after-dinner walk.)

Sunday: 7,538  steps  (Not as happy with this number either. Hard to get steps in while you are seated in the pew at church for a couple of hours.And I'll be honest...for those of you who know me...Sundays are hard days for me right now, anyway.)

That is a total of 60,737 steps. We were told to divide by 2000 to indicate the number of miles. So my total mileage last week was 30.3 miles!
So there you go...my stats for week one of the Step Challenge.

School Step Challenge

**This was originally written earlier this week, but I had some issues with publishing.....**

The PE teacher at my school had another cool idea this year. And this one did not involve duct tape!

She won a grant that she applied for that allowed her to get several really nice pedometers to use with students. But before she lets the kids use them, she asked teachers to compete in a step challenge.

For the next 4 weeks, there are about 20 or so us who are wearing pedometers from the minute we get up until the minute we go to bed. We are recording our steps each day and then adding them up for the week. At the end of the week we convert our steps to miles. At the end of the 4 weeks, the teacher who took the most steps wins.....bragging rights, plus a small pot of money! We each pitched in $5 to compete. I can't remember how many are in this challenge, but I know the pot is over $100!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was the first day of the challenge. I had to spend the day home from school with Quinn who was feeling a little under the weather. I managed to get in 10,515 steps though! We did have to run an errand in the afternoon and then went for a walk around the block after supper. I'm not to that number yet today, but there is still time.

I have also started using our Wii game unit again. I have the Wii Fit Plus and board, and Buddy got me the Biggest Loser game for Christmas. Here's hoping between these two games combined with the Step Challenge, I can even drop a few pounds. The numbers have definitely gotten to a point where I am frustrated with myself, so any time the scale goes down is a good thing.

If you know me in real life, I ask you to ask me about my steps. I would appreciate the encouragement and accountability!